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Can Beth Greene keep up with Daryl Dixon on "The Walking Dead"? If the past few episodes are any example, the answer is a resounding yes. And from what we hear, an increasingly resilient Beth (played by Emily Kinney) has a few things to teach outdoorsman Daryl (Norman Reedus) as they become a capable survival team. (AMC photos)

You're watching the Oscars tonight? Evening gowns, shiny trophies and celebrity speeches are all well and good, but for some of us, the main attraction on TV is "The Walking Dead," Episode 412.

A sneak-peek video for the episode, called "Still," offers a glimpse of two characters on the AMC hit series. (It focuses on a group of survivors battling the rigors of the zombie apocalypse.) Suspense is built into each gripping segment, along with character conflict, interpersonal drama -- and, of course, bloody encounters with hungry, staggering monsters.

Even the quiet moments can be telling, as you'll see in the clip below. Redneck heartthrob Daryl Dixon (played by Norma Reedus) and increasingly tough farm girl Beth Greene (Emily Kinney) are separated from their friends, relying on an arsenal of survival skills as they move through the woods.

Their goal: to stay alive and reunite with other members of the group, after a violent attack on their last place of residence -- a prison -- by a psycho nemesis called the Governor. Explosions and gunfire sent everyone running in different directions; Daryl and Beth were thrown together and are learning to be an effective team.

Kinney's character also is reeling from the brutal death of her father, Hershel Greene, a veterinarian who became the moral center of the group and its empathetic voice of reason.

“Now that the prison is gone, all bets are off. Anything can happen at any corner,” Kinney said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “Even though Beth is with Daryl, that feeling of being alone and having lost their home will be there throughout. The rest of the season, you’re going to see Beth dealing with her father’s death. She has to come to terms with it at some point. Now her role is changing. She’s going to have to step up in a certain way.”

Three new characters were introduced on last Sunday's program: Abraham Ford (a former solider on a mission to save the world), Rosita Espinosa (Abraham's romantic partner and sidekick) and Eugene Porter (a scientist who believes he can outwit the zombie plague).

They're important to the storyline, as developed in "The Walking Dead" comics series, but creator Robert Kirkman seems to relish twisting and turning the plot for the TV show. Will the trio emerge as good guys, bad guys or something harder to pin down? We'll have to wait and see.